On the classic TV sitcom The Honeymooners, Jackie Gleason's character, Ralph Kramden, was famous for saying to people 'pow, right in the kisser.' Today's
Nice Price or Crack Pipe Nissan Pao is a JDM special, but you can buy it here, if its price isn't a punch in the teeth.

It's hard to imagine that a 98-horse, basic-optioned station wagon could generate squeals of joy, but that's just what Joy - and many of the rest of you - did over yesterday's
1971 Ford Torino. At a Benjamin-shy of six large, it also hauled off a respectable 74% Nice Price win. Not bad for a simple six wagon. Oh, and shut up, Joy.

Today's Nice Price or Crack Pipe Ford is green on the outside and gold within. The classic…
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Yesterday's Ford was an old car that still looked to be pretty new. In contrast, today's
Nissan Pao was intended to be a new car that, well, looked freakin' old. The Renault 4-aping Pao was one of Nissan's Pike cars, along with the Autobianchi-like Be-1, Mollusk-emulating S-Cargo, and too-cute coupe Figaro. All of those special, limited-edition cars were based on Nissan's K10 Micra platform, and all were originally limited to sales in Japan. The Pao even lacked any sort of Nissan branding, and was offered through the company's Nissan Cherry Store dealer network. That's also, by the way, where you buy virgins.

While originally Japan-only a number of Paos have made their way to Canada and this particular one has made it even further, to Washington State. Now this is the second Pao I have seen in the span of a week, and both have sported Washington plates, so I would guess that there's some sort of cult compound up there where these retro-mobiles congregate and plot the world's most adorable revolution.

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The Pao that I happened to see at a recent Cars and Coffee was - like most - an automatic. This one however rocks a 5-speed stick, making it both rare, and far more likely to make the 51-horses that the 987-cc four puts out actually usable.

Along with the stick you get a whole lot of old-school industrial design, things like external door hinges, a flat windscreen, and flip-up side glass. Also, if I recall correctly, the stereo - an AM/FM/Cassette unit - is able to be slid out from its under-dash position and used to power a party on the outside of the car.

Of course like every one built, this 96,000-mile Pao is RHD and it comes in that Aqua blue that they all seem to, despite the fact the factory offered Ivory, Olive Gray and Terracotta on the car. It also comes with a $5,899 price tag - just a buck under yesterday's wagon - and you now need to decide its fate at that price.

What's your take on this JDM retro-mobile and its $5,899 price tag? Is that an amount that could get this time machine some traction? Or, is that to modern a price for so retro a car?

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You decide!

Los Angeles
Craigslist (although the car appears to be in Washington State), or go here if the ad disappears.

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